Liverpool winger Mohamed Salah clocked another milestone with Egypt as they beat Malawi on Friday night in the 2023 African Cup of Nations Qualifiers.
The former Chelsea man opened the scoring proceedings before assisting Omar Marmoush with the goal being his 50th for the national team.
Also Read: Gor Mahia transfer ban lifted
It was Vitoria first game in charge of the Pharaohs with the Portuguese tactician taking over the seven-time African Champions in July 2022.
Egypt piled on the pressure right from the first whistle, and their early dominance was almost rewarded when Mohamed Abdel-Moneim’s header crashed off the crossbar in the eighth minute.
After several missed chances, Salah combined with Mohamed Hamdy to collect a cutback pass inside the box and tap home with a left-foot shot in the 20th minute. Wolfsburg striker Marmoush doubled the hosts’ lead with a powerful strike just seconds before the break.
Seven African players have scored 50+ goals in men's international football:
— Squawka (@Squawka) March 24, 2023
🇿🇲 Godfrey Chitalu
🇲🇼 Kinnah Phiri
🇪🇬 Hossam Hassan
🇨🇮 Didier Drogba
🇨🇲 Samuel Eto'o
🇬🇭 Asamoah Gyan
🇪🇬 Mohamed Salah@MoSalah has joined an exclusive club. 🌍 pic.twitter.com/00UWrfu4xI
Coach Rui Vitoria made several substitutions in the second half to bring in new blood as Ahmed Abdel-Kader and Marwan Atteya made their international debut and Mahmoud “Kaharaba” Abdel-Moneim played his first game for Egypt since 2019.
Egypt will fly on Saturday to Malawi to play them on Tuesday in the next round having already bagged six points after three games while Malawi are bottom with 3 points. Ethiopia and Guinea, who have three points each, play each other later in the day.
Also Read: Bayern appoints Tuchel as new manager
